Bonfire Night's Forgotten Anti-Catholic History: Why Britons Once Burned Effigies of the Pope

Bonfire Night celebrations across Britain on 5 November have roots far removed from today's fireworks and family gatherings. For centuries, the tradition carried an openly anti-Catholic message, with crowds burning effigies of the Pope to celebrate Protestant survival following the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.

For context, the annual commemoration began after Catholic conspirators attempted to assassinate King James I by blowing up Parliament. Guy Fawkes became its most recognisable figure, but he was not the plot's mastermind. It was actually Robert Catesby.

The plot failed, yet its consequences extended far beyond the men involved. England's Catholic population faced renewed suspicion, while a celebration of the king's survival gradually became an outlet for religious hostility.

How Bonfire Night Became a Celebration of Protestant Survival

In January 1606, Parliament passed the Thanksgiving Act, establishing annual religious commemorations of the failed assassination attempt.

According to UK Parliament's historical records, thousands of sermons followed over the next two centuries. Church bells, bonfires and eventually fireworks became familiar features of the anniversary.

However, the celebrations were particularly intense whenever fears of Catholic influence resurfaced.

During the reign of Charles I (1625–1649), the practice of burning effigies of the Pope or the devil emerged. It grew more popular during the political and religious tensions surrounding the succession of James II between 1678 and 1681.

The hostility was not confined to bonfires.

Parliament's account of the aftermath records that James I defended the loyalty of most Catholics. Nevertheless, he supported legislation requiring Catholics to swear allegiance to the monarch while rejecting papal authority.

Suspicion intensified during the reign of Charles II, particularly over the so-called Popish Plot, a fabricated conspiracy alleging a Catholic plan to assassinate the king and place his brother, the future James II, on the throne.

The irony was unmistakable. A failed conspiracy by a small group had helped sustain suspicion towards an entire religious community.

Why Guy Fawkes Replaced the Pope on Britain's Bonfires

The familiar image of Guy Fawkes burning atop a bonfire was not always the tradition's defining spectacle.

UK Parliament suggests Fawkes became the more common effigy only after laws restricting Catholic worship were removed. This change reflected Britain's gradual retreat from centuries of religious exclusion.

Restrictions on Catholic worship were eased by the Catholic Relief Act of 1791, while the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 removed most remaining legal disabilities affecting Catholics. The Thanksgiving Act was eventually repealed in 1859. Yet traces of the older customs survived.

In Lewes, East Sussex, bonfire societies have preserved elaborate processions and effigy-burning traditions. A 2022 RTÉ report documented the continued burning of an effigy of Pope Paul V, who led the Catholic Church during the Gunpowder Plot.

Mick Symes, then Captain of Ranks for Lewes Borough Bonfire Society, told RTÉ that anti-Catholic sentiment had faded after the Second World War. He said Catholics also participated in local societies.

The town's Cliffe Bonfire Society nevertheless retained the slogan 'No Popery Here', a reminder of the language once associated with the celebrations.

For most Britons, Bonfire Night now means fireworks, community gatherings and the familiar Guy Fawkes rhyme. In Lewes, however, the older symbols remain visible in the torchlit processions.